Harnessing the Power of Motherhood: The National Florence Crittenton Mission, 1883-1925

By Katherine G. Aiken

"Harnessing the Power of Motherhood takes us inside the Crittenton homes and shows us how earnest and caring women could nurture and aid their less fortunate sisters and restore them to respectability and thus give them a second chance at life."--Joseph M. Hawes, University of Memphis

The National Florence Crittenton Mission (N.F.C.M.), founded in 1883, pioneered rescue work to aid prostitutes, unmarried mothers, and their children through a large chain of institutional homes. In Harnessing the Power of Motherhood, Katherine G. Aiken explores the history of the N.F.C.M., painting a fascinating portrait of a politicized organization that became one of the most significant social welfare movements of its time. Aiken discusses the N.F.C.M.'s development, its programs and policies, and especially its influential leaders, Charles Nelson Crittenton and Dr. Kate Waller Barrett.

Begun as an organization to rescue "fallen" women, by 1924 the N.F.C.M. had expanded its social programs and political agenda along lines that could today be called feminist. Aiken argues that the N.F.C.M.--which eventually established maternity homes in seventy-three U.S. cities--attracted female volunteers by espousing the redemptive power of motherhood as a means to improve women's condition. Drawing on historical documents such as the monthly journals produced by Crittenton workers, Aiken shows that maternalism was a potent rhetorical tool in the hands of N.F.C.M activists, often used to promote a progressive social agenda in a conservative guise.

Under Barrett's direction the organization expanded its programs to include women's health care, aid for victims of abuse and incest, and day care facilities for working families; at the same time, it embraced causes such as women's suffrage and rights for illegitimate children. Today, Florence Crittenton organizations in several states continue this legacy.

Touching on many issues of contemporary social relevance, Harnessing the Power of Motherhood illuminates both an influential social work organization and a vital period of transition in women's history.

The Author: Katherine G. Aiken is an associate professor of history at the University of Idaho.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1572330171
• ISBN13: 9781572330177
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Univ of Tennessee Pr
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.3" x 6.5"